From candy chutes to pulleys — people had come up with some pretty creative ways to keep kids safe from COVID-19 on Halloween in 2020. Dr. Gina Robinson, a pediatrician with Cleveland Clinic Children’s shares how it's important to think about social distancing for trick-or-treaters this year to avoid any ‘scary’ porch pile-ups. Also, to remember traditional Halloween safety tips from costumes to treats.

Halloween is this weekend and the fall fun happenings continue before October ends. Find out what you can do, whether taking your kids to costume-clad events to hiking through autumn, here are ongoing events for all ages through the season. 

Seton Catholic School of Hudson was one of 325 schools nationwide and one of only 23 private schools as a National Blue Ribbon School for 2021. The award affirms the hard work of educators, families and communities in creating safe and welcoming schools where students master challenging and engaging content. Also, see what three public schools are being recognized.

Jason Lea, "Dad Matters" columnist for Northeast Ohio magazine, shares with us a conversation he had with his daughter about the value of friendship and how life with friends can change.

Students across the country have settled into their back to school routine. Many schools are offering Makerspaces. Makerspaces go by many names: Creation Labs, Fab Labs, to name a few. Schools have been finding ways to incorporate creation labs into their buildings. Some districts have built spaces from scratch, while others have renovated existing classrooms or libraries. Regardless of the name, size, equipment, or location, creation is the fundamental core characteristic of the space.   

Produced for the Akron Zoo's "Training Tales" video series about animal care, this video introduces Keeper Kaitlyn and Angel the cockatoo.

Wild Winter Lights transforms the Zoo after dark with hundreds of dazzling displays across holiday-themed areas including Candyland, Enchanted Forest, Conservation Trail and Santa’s Workshop. This year, guests can experience Wild Winter Lights on foot or in their personal vehicle.

In the October issue of Northeast Ohio Parent magazine, we feature a few party planners and entertainment experiences to choose from around the region. Check out these advertiser listings and see our party planning directory for more opportunities.

Since April 2020, Northeast Ohio Parent has been bringing you video and virtual fun each week as part of our KidStream newsletter. Now, we’d like to see what our readers and followers have been up to! Each month, we’ll choose a theme and our followers can submit videos for a chance to be featured in KidStream — plus one lucky winner will win a fantastic prize!

Kristen Kelly, blogger at "Ready, Set, Parenthood!" provided readers with information about hand-foot-and-mouth disease, a common childhood infectious disease. As stated in her 2014 blog post, after doing some research online and speaking with her son's pediatrician, she learned so much about this disease that she wishes she would have known before her son got it. With the new school year and the typical germ season underway, Northeast Ohio Parent editors thought we would re-share to help families.